Swiss-based group Ameropa has signed a EUR 347 million syndicated facility to finance its operations in Romania

The largest Romanian fertilizer producer Azomures, together with Ameropa Grains SA, the largest grain originator and Chimpex, market leader in port operations, part of Swiss-based Ameropa Group,  have secured a EUR 347 million Senior Secured Multicurrency Revolving Credit Facility.

The syndicate of banks is composed of Banca Comerciala Romana SA (BCR) and Raiffeisen Bank  SA as joint Initial Mandated Lead Arrangers and Bookrunners, together with ING Bank N.V. Amsterdam – Bucharest Branch and UniCredit Bank S.A., as Mandated Lead Arrangers. BCR acted also as the Documentation, Facility & Security Agent. Nestor Nestor Diculescu Kingston Petersen (NNDKP) acted as a legal advisor to the lenders, whereas Popovici Nitu Stoica & Asociatii (PNSA) acted as a legal advisor on the borrower’s side.

The syndicated facility, which has been amended and extended, will be used by Ameropa Group’s Romanian entities to finance their working capital needs. The documentation also stipulates an accordion feature, which will allow the group to access additional funding of up to EUR 104m in line with the increase of the prices of grains and fertilizers.

This transaction confirms the support of the syndicated banks for the consolidation of Ameropa’s strategic operations in Romania.

Ameropa is a Swiss-based agri-business group founded in 1948 with world-wide activities that span the full supply chain, ranging from production, to logistics and merchandising, to distribution. A core activity of the group is the global merchandising and distribution of fertilizer and food & feed products, supported and enabled by complementary assets, such as silos, warehouses and port facilities, as well as upstream assets such as fertilizer production plants. Active in more than 30 countries, the group is the largest exporter of grains out of the Danube region and the largest independent global fertilizer trader, which selectively invests in logistical and processing assets.